Quantifying Dissolved Organic Carbon Dynamics Using a Three‐Dimensional Terrestrial Ecosystem Model at High Spatial‐Temporal Resolutions

Abstract As part of the Western Arctic Linkage Experiment (WALE), simulations of carbon dynamics in the western Arctic (WALE region) were conducted during two recent decades by driving the Terrestrial Ecosystem Model (TEM) with three alternative climate datasets. Among the three TEM simulations, we compared the mean monthly and interannual variability of three carbon fluxes: 1) net primary production (NPP), 2) heterotrophic respiration (Rh), and 3) net ecosystem production (NEP). Cumulative changes in vegetation, soil, and total carbon storage among the simulations were also compared. This study supports the conclusion that the terrestrial carbon cycle is accelerating in the WALE region, with more rapid turnover of carbon for simulations driven by two of the three climates. The temperature differences among the climate datasets resulted in annual estimates of NPP and Rh that varied by a factor of 2.5 among the simulations. There is much spatial variability in the temporal trends of NPP and Rh across the region in the simulations driven by different climates, and the spatial pattern of trends is quite different among simulations. Thus, this study indicates that the overall response of NEP in simulations with TEM across the WALE region depends substantially on the temporal trends in the climate dataset used to drive the model. Similar to the recommendations of other studies in the WALE project, this study indicates that coupling methodologies should use anomalies of future climate model simulations to alter the climate of more trusted datasets for purposes of driving ecosystem models of carbon dynamics.

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Spatially Explicit Parameterization of a Terrestrial Ecosystem Model and Its Application to the Quantification of Carbon Dynamics of Forest Ecosystems in the Conterminous United States

Earth Interactions ◽

10.1175/2012ei400.1 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 16 (5) ◽

pp. 1-22 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Min Chen ◽

Qianlai Zhuang

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Primary Production ◽

Forest Ecosystems ◽

Terrestrial Ecosystem ◽

Ecosystem Model ◽

Carbon Dynamics ◽

Spatially Explicit ◽

Carbon And Nitrogen ◽

Parameterization Method ◽

Terrestrial Ecosystem Model

Abstract The authors use a spatially explicit parameterization method and the Terrestrial Ecosystem Model (TEM) to quantify the carbon dynamics of forest ecosystems in the conterminous United States. Six key parameters that govern the rates of carbon and nitrogen dynamics in TEM are selected for calibration. Spatially explicit data for carbon and nitrogen pools and fluxes are used to calibrate the six key parameters to more adequately account for the spatial heterogeneity of ecosystems in estimating regional carbon dynamics. The authors find that a spatially explicit parameterization results in vastly different carbon exchange rates relative to a parameterization conducted for representative ecosystem sites. The new parameterization method estimates that the net ecosystem production (NEP), the annual gross primary production (GPP), and the net primary production (NPP) of the regional forest ecosystems are 61% (0.02 Pg C; 1 Pg = 1015 g) higher and 2% (0.11 Pg C) and 19% (0.45 Pg C) lower, respectively, than the values obtained using the traditional parameterization method for the period 1948–2000. The estimated vegetation carbon and soil organic carbon pool sizes are 51% (18.73 Pg C) lower and 29% (7.40 Pg C) higher. This study suggests that, to more adequately quantify regional carbon dynamics, spatial data for carbon and nitrogen pools and fluxes should be developed and used with the spatially explicit parameterization method.

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Spatially explicit parameterization of a terrestrial ecosystem model and its application to the quantification of carbon dynamics of forest ecosystems in the conterminous United States

Earth Interactions ◽

10.1175/ei400.1 ◽

2012 ◽

pp. 120224130320003

Author(s):

Min Chen ◽

Qianlai Zhuang

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Forest Ecosystems ◽

Terrestrial Ecosystem ◽

Ecosystem Model ◽

Carbon Dynamics ◽

Spatially Explicit ◽

Terrestrial Ecosystem Model

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Quantifying the role of moss in terrestrial ecosystem carbon dynamics in northern high latitudes

Biogeosciences ◽

10.5194/bg-18-6245-2021 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (23) ◽

pp. 6245-6269

Author(s):

Junrong Zha ◽

Qianlai Zhuang

Keyword(s):

21St Century ◽

Land Surface ◽

Terrestrial Ecosystem ◽

Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽

Ecosystem Model ◽

Carbon Dynamics ◽

The Arctic ◽

New Model ◽

Terrestrial Ecosystem Model ◽

Ecosystem Carbon

Abstract. Mosses are ubiquitous in northern terrestrial ecosystems, and play an important role in regional carbon, water and energy cycling. Current global land surface models that do not consider mosses may bias the quantification of regional carbon dynamics. Here we incorporate mosses as a new plant functional type into the process-based Terrestrial Ecosystem Model (TEM 5.0), to develop a new model (TEM_Moss). The new model explicitly quantifies the interactions between vascular plants and mosses and their competition for energy, water, and nutrients. Compared to the estimates using TEM 5.0, the new model estimates that the regional terrestrial soils currently store 132.7 Pg more C and will store 157.5 and 179.1 Pg more C under the RCP8.5 and RCP2.6 scenarios, respectively, by the end of the 21st century. Ensemble regional simulations forced with different parameters for the 21st century with TEM_Moss predict that the region will accumulate 161.1±142.1 Pg C under the RCP2.6 scenario and 186.7±166.1 Pg C under the RCP8.5 scenario over the century. Our study highlights the necessity of coupling moss into Earth system models to adequately quantify terrestrial carbon–climate feedbacks in the Arctic.

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Hydrological and catchment controls on event‐scale dissolved organic carbon dynamics in boreal headwater streams

Hydrological Processes ◽

10.1002/hyp.14279 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Adrienne A. Ducharme ◽

Nora J. Casson ◽

Scott N. Higgins ◽

Karl Friesen‐Hughes

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Dissolved Organic Carbon ◽

Headwater Streams ◽

Carbon Dynamics ◽

Event Scale

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Tiling soil textures for terrestrial ecosystem modelling via clustering analysis: a case study with CLASS-CTEM (version 2.1)

10.5194/gmd-2017-3 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Joe R. Melton ◽

Reinel Sospedra-Alfonso ◽

Kelly E. McCusker

Keyword(s):

Soil Texture ◽

Land Surface ◽

Clustering Analysis ◽

Clustering Algorithms ◽

Terrestrial Ecosystem ◽

Grid Cell ◽

Moisture Stress ◽

Ecosystem Model ◽

Global Scale ◽

Terrestrial Ecosystem Model

Abstract. We investigate the application of clustering algorithms to represent sub-grid scale variability in soil texture for use in a global-scale terrestrial ecosystem model. Our model, the coupled Canadian Land Surface Scheme – Canadian Terrestrial Ecosystem Model (CLASS-CTEM), is typically implemented at a coarse spatial resolution (ca. 2.8° × 2.8°) due to its use as the land surface component of the Canadian Earth System Model (CanESM). CLASS-CTEM can, however, be run with tiling of the land surface as a means to represent sub-grid heterogeneity. We first determined that the model was sensitive to tiling of the soil textures via an idealized test case before attempting to cluster soil textures globally. To cluster a high-resolution soil texture dataset onto our coarse model grid, we use two linked algorithms (OPTICS (Ankerst et al., 1999; Daszykowski et al., 2002) and Sander et al. (2003)) to provide tiles of representative soil textures for use as CLASS-CTEM inputs. The clustering process results in, on average, about three tiles per CLASS-CTEM grid cell with most cells having four or less tiles. Results from CLASS-CTEM simulations conducted with the tiled inputs (Cluster) versus those using a simple grid-mean soil texture (Gridmean) show CLASS-CTEM, at least on a global scale, is relatively insensitive to the tiled soil textures, however differences can be large in arid or peatland regions. The Cluster simulation has generally lower soil moisture and lower overall vegetation productivity than the Gridmean simulation except in arid regions where plant productivity increases. In these dry regions, the influence of the tiling is stronger due to the general state of vegetation moisture stress which allows a single tile, whose soil texture retains more plant available water, to yield much higher productivity. Although the use of clustering analysis appears promising as a means to represent sub-grid heterogeneity, soil textures appear to be reasonably represented for global scale simulations using a simple grid-mean value.

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Executive Editor comment on "oupling the Canadian Terrestrial Ecosystem Model (CTEM v. 2.0) to Environment and Climate Change Canada's greenhouse gas forecast model"

10.5194/gmd-2017-169-sc1 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Astrid Kerkweg

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Greenhouse Gas ◽

Terrestrial Ecosystem ◽

Forecast Model ◽

Ecosystem Model ◽

Editor Comment ◽

Executive Editor ◽

Terrestrial Ecosystem Model

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Bayesian calibration of the DayCent ecosystem model to simulate soil organic carbon dynamics and reduce model uncertainty

Geoderma ◽

10.1016/j.geoderma.2020.114529 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 376 ◽

pp. 114529

Author(s):

Ram B. Gurung ◽

Stephen M. Ogle ◽

F. Jay Breidt ◽

Stephen A. Williams ◽

William J. Parton

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Model Uncertainty ◽

Ecosystem Model ◽

Carbon Dynamics ◽

Bayesian Calibration ◽

Soil Organic Carbon Dynamics

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Simulating high-latitude permafrost regions by the JSBACH terrestrial ecosystem model

Geoscientific Model Development ◽

10.5194/gmd-7-631-2014 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 631-647 ◽

Cited By ~ 67

Author(s):

A. Ekici ◽

C. Beer ◽

S. Hagemann ◽

J. Boike ◽

M. Langer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High Latitude ◽

Terrestrial Ecosystem ◽

Ecosystem Model ◽

Layered Soil ◽

Data Sets ◽

High Latitudes ◽

Current Version ◽

Freeze Thaw ◽

Terrestrial Ecosystem Model ◽

Permafrost Regions

Abstract. The current version of JSBACH incorporates phenomena specific to high latitudes: freeze/thaw processes, coupling thermal and hydrological processes in a layered soil scheme, defining a multilayer snow representation and an insulating moss cover. Evaluations using comprehensive Arctic data sets show comparable results at the site, basin, continental and circumarctic scales. Such comparisons highlight the need to include processes relevant to high-latitude systems in order to capture the dynamics, and therefore realistically predict the evolution of this climatically critical biome.

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Competition between plant functional types in the Canadian Terrestrial Ecosystem Model (CTEM) v. 2.0

Geoscientific Model Development ◽

10.5194/gmd-9-323-2016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 323-361 ◽

Cited By ~ 52

Author(s):

J. R. Melton ◽

V. K. Arora

Keyword(s):

Spatial Distribution ◽

Large Scale ◽

Terrestrial Ecosystem ◽

Ecosystem Model ◽

Plant Functional Types ◽

Atmospheric Composition ◽

Climate Modelling ◽

Fractional Coverage ◽

Terrestrial Ecosystem Model ◽

Functional Types

Abstract. The Canadian Terrestrial Ecosystem Model (CTEM) is the interactive vegetation component in the Earth system model of the Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis. CTEM models land–atmosphere exchange of CO2 through the response of carbon in living vegetation, and dead litter and soil pools, to changes in weather and climate at timescales of days to centuries. Version 1.0 of CTEM uses prescribed fractional coverage of plant functional types (PFTs) although, in reality, vegetation cover continually adapts to changes in climate, atmospheric composition and anthropogenic forcing. Changes in the spatial distribution of vegetation occur on timescales of years to centuries as vegetation distributions inherently have inertia. Here, we present version 2.0 of CTEM, which includes a representation of competition between PFTs based on a modified version of the Lotka–Volterra (L–V) predator–prey equations. Our approach is used to dynamically simulate the fractional coverage of CTEM's seven natural, non-crop PFTs, which are then compared with available observation-based estimates. Results from CTEM v. 2.0 show the model is able to represent the broad spatial distributions of its seven PFTs at the global scale. However, differences remain between modelled and observation-based fractional coverage of PFTs since representing the multitude of plant species globally, with just seven non-crop PFTs, only captures the large-scale climatic controls on PFT distributions. As expected, PFTs that exist in climate niches are difficult to represent either due to the coarse spatial resolution of the model, and the corresponding driving climate, or the limited number of PFTs used. We also simulate the fractional coverage of PFTs using unmodified L–V equations to illustrate its limitations. The geographic and zonal distributions of primary terrestrial carbon pools and fluxes from the versions of CTEM that use prescribed and dynamically simulated fractional coverage of PFTs compare reasonably well with each other and observation-based estimates. The parametrization of competition between PFTs in CTEM v. 2.0 based on the modified L–V equations behaves in a reasonably realistic manner and yields a tool with which to investigate the changes in spatial distribution of vegetation in response to future changes in climate.

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